Entertainment

‘Alice in Wonderland’ Falls Flat

Words by Alex Perry

Tim Burton’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ is not a good film. It is not a bad one, either. It just sort of hangs there in the middle, doomed to be forgotten in the years to come. It is a shame, really; Lewis Carroll’s classic stories seem perfect for an adaptation by a director who is known for movies that sacrifice deep characters for visual delight. This could have been a fun journey through a fantastic, if familiar world. Instead, we are treated to the film version of a theme park ride that may have been amazing at some point in time, but has suffered from several years of poor maintenance and has become dull and lifeless.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Burton’s newest film is that it is a sequel to the classic story of Alice’s journey down the rabbit hole. It begins with young Alice Kingsley waking up late at night to consult her father about a bad dream she was having. The movie then jumps 13 years ahead, where Alice is nearly 20 years old, her father is gone, and her mother is desperately trying to get her to marry into the family of one of her father’s former trading partners. There is some talk of economics and trading routes, and of Alice dying an ugly old woman if she does not marry this man. While there is some light comedy here, it feels unnecessary and like it belongs in a different movie.

Thankfully, it does not take long for Alice to once again stumble into the rabbit hole and meet the familiar cast of characters. Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the White Rabbit, and the Dormouse are among the welcoming party, who tell Alice that the day has come where she has been chosen to slay the Jabberwocky, take the crown of the newly-named Underland away from the Red Queen, and return it to the White Queen.

In the 13 years since her last adventures, Alice has lost all memory of ever visiting Underland. She is convinced that she is the wrong Alice, but she clearly is, so she spends most of the movie finding herself and preparing to fight the Jabberwocky. The second third of the movie is spent preparing us for an epic battle between the forces of the White Queen and the forces of the Red Queen, but when it finally gets there, the audience is treated to a dull and unexciting action scene. It could have been better, but action has never really been amazing in Burton’s movies.

It is in the performances of Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter where ‘Alice in Wonderland’ shines. Depp plays the Mad Hatter, and he certainly is mad. The only problem with this is that we have seen Depp play crazy people before. The same can be said for Carter’s Red Queen, whose loud, bossy attitude will surely entertain children, but might annoy some older viewers.

Without a doubt, the worst performance is that of Mia Wasikowska as Alice. She never puts the right amount of emotion into any line, and she spends much of the movie complaining. This is Wasikowska’s first leading role in a major motion picture, and it may not help her in the long run.

The reason most people go to see Tim Burton movies is because they look beautiful in a strange way. “Alice in Wonderland” does a decent job of carrying on this tradition, though it is easy to tell that Burton’s style is getting old. Underland is full of strange creatures and landscapes, but computers have rendered them all, and they look incredibly fake and distracting. All of Burton’s recent movies have had the same fantasy style in one way or another, and it clearly is not doing him any good here. 1994’s “Ed Wood” showed us that Burton could make a beautiful movie that is set in the real world, and without any fancy makeup or effects. “Alice in Wonderland” is proof that this is the direction he needs to be going in.

What ‘Alice in Wonderland’ eventually boils down to is a movie that, like a broken down theme park ride, feels overly familiar and without any of the delight and wonder it may have held had it been released several years ago. As it stands now, this mildly entertaining journey down the rabbit hole is one that audiences should have second thoughts about taking.

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